A new poll released today shows that voters in California, Oregon and Washington support efforts to hold polluters accountable for contributing to climate change and want the financial penalties invested in clean energy sources and infrastructure.

Coincidentally, the results are being released when California is launching the nation’s first carbon market under the state’s landmark clean energy law, AB32. By covering the state’s largest carbon emitters, the cap-and-trade program is one of the measures designed to help reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The poll also found broad support for the proposal to “reduce climate pollution and invest in clean energy sources by charging large companies for the pollution they create that contributes to climate change” across all three states. When given the option to support investing the pollution fees in reducing the deficit, more voters favored investing the revenues in clean energy (65 vs. 57 percent).

As my colleague Transportation Policy Director Deron Lovaas noted, “This poll shows that voters in California, Oregon and Washington strongly want cleaner, more energy-efficient communities and transportation choices. Children and future generations deserve new economic opportunities, improved quality of life as well as cities and towns prepared to address the effects of climate change. Voters know that holding polluters responsible can help achieve all three.”

The survey also showed voters do not believe economic growth will be hindered if polluters are held responsible. Quite the opposite: they believe using the fees to invest in clean energy industries and infrastructure will create millions of jobs while reducing pollution.

Voters also agreed that we need to address the future impacts of climate change. Sixty-three percent of those polled supported taking steps to better prepare for the damage, injury, and cost to communities that comes from extreme weather like Sandy by: first, assessing where we build new infrastructure; second, taking steps as a country to increase our readiness; and third, reducing harmful emissions that contribute to extreme weather.

This shows once again that people are making the connection between climate change and severe weather, and that they want their political leaders to take action.

The responses also indicated support for the clean energy measures in the groundbreaking AB 32 climate law, such as energy efficiency and renewable fuels, solar and wind energy, while favoring efforts to speed the transition toward cleaner energy and tackling climate change while growing the economy:

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